seaworld area

[dpratt68]

Hi
I am planning a trip to Busch Gardens and then to Sea World. I am wondering if I should commute to Sea World from my hotel in Tampa or get a hotel in that area? Will one day be enough at Sea World? If I need a hotel near Sea World any reccomendations?? Sorry for all the questions.

 

[spiceycat]

I would go to orlando - SW has lots of nice hotels close by

HGVC, Renaissance, Hilton

if you can offer it - do Discovery Cove too.

 

[disney 4me2]

Usually Sea World can be done in one day, but I guess it depends on the ages of your kids too. If you have the time, it would be nice to spend 2 days there, because I believe they still offer 2nd day free admisssion with each paid admission.

 

[F-L-A]

I definitiely wouldn't want to stay anywhere near Busch Gardens. I don't even like driving through that area. I live next to SeaWorld. There's some nice hotels in the area, including the Ritz-Carlton.

 

[dpratt68]

Why wouldn't you want to stay near Busch Gardens?? Is it a rough area? I tentatively have the Holiday Inn-Busch Gardens reserved. Am I going to regret this decision?

 

[F-L-A]

Is it a rough area?

That's one way of putting it. It's not so much high crime, as it is just being butt ugly. Then again, I'm not fond of Tampa as a whole. But especially that area. Busch is basically surrounded by rundown strip malls, dirty, shady motels, and industrial factories. That's all you'll see for miles. That entire area is basically the anti-Orlando. It's important for tourists to understand that before going there. They should also understand that Busch is closer to being a glorified Six Flags than an experience along the lines of Disney or Universal. (Or even SeaWorld, which is also owned by Busch... irony)

The only decent hotel anywhere near Busch is the Hard Rock, which IMO pales in comparison to the one at Universal. I stayed there on my last visit to Busch last August. It doubles as a casino.

An article on Busch Boulevard, the main road in that area:

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/12/19/Northoftampa/This_road_is_one_ugly.shtml